Exploring Your Space: The Google App's Fresh Look and Updated Features

Today, it’s possible to instantly get informed about the most recent news, latest weather updates, the latest scores in sports, and the most recent trends in the financial market with the help of different applications. One of the applications that understands this need of the users by providing them with update cards right to their screen is the Google app. Recently, to keep up with the ongoing trend of redesigns, the Google app underwent a massive redesign of its ‘your space’ carousel, which contains multiple information cards such as daily weather update, air quality index (AQI), sports updates, and financial news. The most recent redesign not only improves the aesthetic beauty of the information cards by a large margin but also enhances the functionality of the application making it easy for the users to stay informed with a mere glance at their phones.

What's New in the GOOGLE App Redesign?

Another, more recent, iteration (rolling out in v15.20+ of the stable version of the Google app) features a more extensive redesign, swapping the rounded rectangles surrounded by thin outlines for taller, more solid containers, highlighting the user’s information cards to better show off the weather, AQI, sports scores and financial updates.

Utilizing "Your Space" for Personalized Updates

A ‘your space’ card slots in the middle of the carousel of cards, an innovative human-sounding change in the way information is presented, allowing you set updates according to your interests, and a new ‘Settings’ card at the bottom of the carousel allows more granular control and personalisation. ‘Your space’ is the user’s ‘my station’ targeted at its individual human’s human interests: to keep track of air quality in your location, your stocks and markets you follow, your favourite sports teams, the weather.

Old vs. New: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Beside aesthetic modifications, the redesign is also a functional upgrade. The old design had relied on Google Now-style space cards, which were informative but too small and not very info-dense, relative to the new look. The redesigned space cards now make their presence felt in Discover – the feed you’ll find on the left of your Android homescreen (first seen in version 15.12 of the Google app for Android). Google has made it easier than ever to get your hands on the information tailored for you.

Broader Updates and Features in the GOOGLE App

The latest iteration of the ‘your space’ carousel is just one of many similar updates to the Google app in recent weeks. There’s a Google Assistant-less (or un-branded?) At a Glance widget, tweaks to the configuration of the Finance Watchlist widget, and a slicker new look for its Search and Lens shortcuts. The overarching message is that each piece of news is another inch forward in the company’s hope to optimise information access and ease of use.

Feedback and Customization: Tailoring Your Experience

The user is also asked to provide feedback and customise their feed by scrolling down to settings and disabling/enabling items they do or do not want to see in their Discover feed. This refreshes the entire Discover feed and allows users to shape their information streams according to the fluctuations of their interests and desires. The Google app ensures that it can serve as a multifaceted tool to help users remain informed about things most relevant to their world.

Exploring Google: Beyond the Redesign

It wasn’t trivial; the team had undertaken extensive usability research that revealed the carousel, now called ‘your space’, was one of the most used parts of the Google app. The redesign was the latest manifestation of Google’s mission to provide the best user experience possible. But it was just that: a part of Google, one of a multitude of different products and services the company provides, including web and mobile search, email, cloud computing, consumer electronics, and more. The updates cycle never stops; new search features are rolled out constantly.

In its attempt to redesign ‘your space’ as a carousel, Google demonstrates that its curiosity of improving the apps’ usability, beauty and personalisation will never end. With the advent of digital tools such as Google to provide personalised information, the users will also benefit from Google’s efforts to make its app smarter and better.

Whether you are checking the weather before going out, following your favourite team on the sports field, tracking trends for your investments, or just keeping up with the world around you, the Google app and the new ‘your space’ make it easier than ever to stay up-to-date. With future iterations of the Google experience, users can always expect more personalised, informative and enjoyable moments in the digital world.